Twilight Gaurdians
by cutitout
Summary: Sephiroth has kidnapped Namine, an assassin is sent to kill Riku, Sora only has two weeks left to live, and Axel isn't helping much. Namiku, flames accepted, so R&R.
1. Castle Oblivion

Ok, my last story bombed so I decided to write this one. It's only my second fic, so please R&R.

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"Riku, I have another assignmentto give toyou." The red haired pyromaniac named Axel stated.

Riku groaned. He hated it when Axel was the one to give him assignments.

"What is it this time?" He asked, rolling his eyes. "Attacking someone in another world, retrieving a cursed item for Vexen to examine, a trip into the abyss maybe?"

"Heh heh, close. You need to go get a sword called the _Giulmar Twilit._ Diz wants it for some reason."

_The Guilmar Twilit? Why does that sound so familiar? _Riku wondered. "So all I have to do is find some sword with a funny name? I guess this means I got the break I asked for."

"Not quite. You see, someone already found the sword." Axel had a look on his face that reminded Riku of the way Tidus looked when he was about to tell the punch line of a bad joke that he thought was really funny. "You might know of him. His name is Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth? I think you're lying." Riku couldn't help snicker inwardly at the strangely accurate comparison he had made between Axel and Tidus.

"And what makes you think that?" Axel asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I have my reasons." Riku, though he didn't show it on the outside, was trying as hard as he could not to laugh. He found it extremely funny that Axel, the man who was constantly reminding Riku who had more seniority, knew less about Diz than Riku did. "I think I'll go ask Diz myself."

As he walked away, Riku could hear Axel cursing under his breath. He kind of enjoyed making Axel so mad, but not because the guy was a jerk. No, it was because Axel was the guy who had made King Mickey leave, the one friend Riku had had in this miserable castle. He had gone into a depression then, barely eating and almost never sleeping. He spent his time completing the missions he was constantly being sent on and wondering if Sora would still be his friend when he woke up. The whole time he was like that he had thought that King Mickey had just abandoned him because of what he had done in the past.

Then he received help from the last person he ever expected. The Riku Replica. He still wasn't sure if he had just been hallucinating, or if he had actually met him, but he knew that it definitely helped. The other Riku had shown him what had really happened when King Mickey had left, how he had fought Axel, Zexion, and Lexaeus before they were able to throw him out. He had also told Riku not to worry about Sora not forgiving him since the whole reason Sora went to Castle Oblivion in the first place was to try and find Riku. When Riku pointed out that he still didn't have a friend, Riku Replica suggested that he try and become friends with Namine.

Shortly after that his meeting with Riku Replica had ended, but Riku did search for Namine after that. It wasn't hard to find her, and they did become friends pretty quick. Namine wanted to know what life was like outside the castle, what it was like to not have someone putting you down constantly. Riku just needed someone to talk to, so he was happy to supply the stories Namine asked for. They agreed that it would be better for both of them if no one else knew that they were friends, since everyone else in the darn castle seemed to want to make them as miserable as possible.

Riku was suddenly torn from his reverie when he heard Larxene yelling at somebody. Wondering who was on the receiving end of this argument, he quickly rounded the corner. He almost laughed out loud when he saw that it was Diz. Larxene was ranting and raving, while was watching her calmly. Riku had at first thought that Diz was the leader of the Organization, but soon learned that the reason the others treated him with such respect was because he could take on all of them in a fight. That and it was literally impossible to win in an argument with him. Riku was the closest to accomplishing this, but still had a long way to go.

After a few moments of her ranting and raving, (something about never getting a straight answer) Larxene stopped, glared at Diz who stood about five inches higher than her, and stormed off. Diz then turned his attention to Riku and asked why he was here.

"You have a question to answer." Riku answered. He normally would have come right out and asked him, but Diz had given him strict orders to talk this way to him. Since Riku was under his command, he had to do as he was told. Lately Riku had found this slipping into his normal conversations with the other members, much to Axel's annoyance, and even into his conversations with Namine.

"And have you asked this question already? Or is this a new one?" Diz asked. Riku hated this ritual, but he knew it was necessary.

"I've asked it of myself, but I cannot find an answer. Axel gave me an assignment he said came from you, but the assignment does not make sense." Riku watched Diz's reaction more that anything else, since this would give more of an answer than anything he said.

Diz replied "I do have an assignment for you."

Riku had noticed the slight hesitation Diz had made before answering, and took that to mean that he hadn't told anyone about this new assignment. "He said I needed to retrieve a sword called the _Giulmar Twilit_ from Sephiroth."

"He was correct." Diz revealed absolutely nothing other than this, so Riku decided he must not be lying.

"If he was correct, then why do you need me to take something from Sephiroth? Why don't you do it?" Riku knew that Diz knew he really meant why didn't he just ask Sephiroth for it? He was friends with him, right?

"Why indeed? Why am I training you if I can do all of this myself?" Diz put on a quizzical look, or at least what Riku knew was his quizzical look, and shrugged.

Then Riku understood. This was a test to see how he would handle this, and how he would react. "I'm not going to risk my life just so you can see how I react to certain circumstances. Sorry, but I refuse this mission." He turned on his heel and left without another word to Diz.

He decided to let Namine know that he had gotten Diz mad at him and that he would have to leave the castle for a little while. Namine, why did he always tell her everything? Even stuff he wouldn't have told Sora. He wasn't in love with her, was he? Was it even possible for him to love anymore, now that Ansem was in his heart? Was it possible for him to have that light in his heart, when it was submersed in darkness?

Riku was contemplating this while he was walking to the room that held Sora, since that was the only place Namine ever stayed for more than sixty seconds. When he got there, he wondered how she would react to him getting Diz mad at him. After all, the last person to succeed in that, Marluxia, got killed by the Keyblade Master. While Riku wasn't exactly worried about that, he was worried about what Diz _would _do to him.

Riku shook his head and opened the door. He wasn't going to think about that right now. He walked in and looked around, trying to find Namine.

"Namine?" He asked the empty room. Why wasn't she here? The only time she ever left was when either Riku forced her to eat or she needed to sleep. Since it was only one o' clock, Riku didn't think the last one was very likely.

"Oh, were you looking for her?" Asked a familiar voice from beside the door.

Riku spun around, drawing the Soul Eater. He almost dropped it when he saw Sephiroth holding his seven foot sword, the Masamune, up to Namine's throat.

"Release her!" He yelled, running at them.

"You'll have to catch me first. I'll be in Traverse town. Don't be late." Sephiroth replied mockingly as he disappeared into a portal of darkness.

"No! Aargh!" Riku punched the wall. Why did he just let the one friend he had get kidnapped, let alone by the guy he just said he wouldn't go after?

He ran back out into the hall, running for the exit. He saw Diz, almost exactly where he had left him, and growled, "I changed my mind. I'm going after Sephiroth."

"Good. Don't forget the _Giulmar Twilit, _which, by the way, means _Twilight Guardian._

"Whatever! Just don't get in my way!" Riku yelled back as he finally got to the giant doors that opened into the never ending grassy plains that were the trademark of this world. _I won't let you down, Namine. _Riku thought as he opened the portal to the Twilight Road, which was the only way to get from world to world with the walls intact.

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Ok, like I said, this is my second fic, and the first one bombed, so that didn't count. Anyway, R&R, flames accepted 


	2. Traverse Town

Hey everybody, here's the second chapter. Sorry it took two days to update, I was drowning in homework. Anyway, hope you enjoy it.

Oh yeah, forgot to put the disclaimer in the first chapter, so here it is: I don't own nothing. Not even this computer. It's my dad's, lol.

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_Traverse Town. Haven't been here for a while._ Riku got off of the Twilight Road and looked around. As usual, the only light came from artificial means, not from the sky. The most annoying source was the obnoxious sign that was mounted just above the door to the accessory shop. That sign alone could have lit up the town square. He wondered, and not for the first time, why anybody would want to live here. But Riku wasn't here to wonder why some people lived where the sun don't shine. He was here to find Namine and Sephiroth.And the first place he decided to look was the third district.

"Hey, Diz! Where's Namine? She's supposed to be working on repairing Sora's memories, but I can't find her anywhere in the castle!" Axel seemed furious about something, but then again, he was always mad about one thing or another.

"She was kidnapped by the executioner you were sending Riku to." Diz sounded slightly amused, but only Riku could have picked it up. Diz was amazed at how fast the boy was picking up on what he taught him. Well, except for the language of the twilight realm. That was proving harder for Riku to learn than for the boy to defeat Sephiroth, which Axel had told him to do multiple times.

"Kidnapped? By an executioner? Which one? I want answers Diz!" Just then Larxene walked by and told Axel that he was beating a dead horse.

"Then you'll have to find them on your own. Unless you wish for more vague explanations, which your better would be more than willing to supply." Diz realized that Axel hadn't figured out that he had been insulted yet, so he left.

It wasn't until Diz had disappeared that Axel figured out that he had been insulted by Diz. "Hey! He just called me inferior! He's dead the next time we meet!" Axel thought about this, then added, "Maybe not."

Axel turned around and started to walk to the entrance hall of the castle. "So? Where is she?" Axel whipped around and drew his wagon wheel-like weapons, but only to find a knife at his throat.

"Oh, it's just you." Axel replied, recognizing the blonde haired teen that was pressing the blade to his throat.

"'Just me'? That's no way to talk to somebody who could kill you at any given moment." He pressed the knife harder into Axel's skin.

"That's not what I meant, Steel. I thought you were Sora." Axel visibly relaxed when Steel took the knife away from his throat.

"Who?" Steel didn't like to be compared to anyone.

"The last person to beat me in combat, other than you. As for your question, she was kidnapped." Axel cringed when anger flashed across Steel's face.

"You let someone kidnap her!" The knife was immediately back against Axel's neck, in an excellent position to slit his throat.

"Don't!" Axel was trying his best not to whimper, but he knew that Steel's knife began to drain it's victim's life force the second it broke their skin.

"Give me a reason not to." Steel growled, giving Axel a small cut on his throat.

"I know who did it! But if you kill me, you'll never find out who!" Axel hoped that this would work, knowing that if it didn't then that knife would surely kill him, and faster than the keyblade ever could.

"Alright, talk. Who kidnapped her?" Steel wasn't in the mood for games. Not that he ever was.

Axel kept his look of terror, but knew that his plan was working.

Riku slammed his fist against the stone walls. He couldn't find them anywhere! He had searched all over the third district, carefully avoiding the house that held the hyper active ninja that thought he liked her, and found no clue as to where Sephiroth was. Then he looked in the second district, and once again found nothing. Then he had searched the first district, and found nothing for the third time in a row. He was not having a good day.

There was only one thing left for him to do. He had to get some of Sora's friends to help him. They knew this town better than anyone else, and they would do anything for Sora. But Sephiroth _was _from their world, and Riku didn't know how much they liked Sephiroth or how much they would do for him. But if no one else helped him, at least the ninja would. She probably still thought he liked her. How she got that idea, he wasn't quite sure, but it would help him right now.

He knocked and waited to see who would answer it. He heard a deep voice inside tell someone else to get it, and then he heard the ninja's voice screaming something about always having to get it. _Great, she's on a sugar high. Well, as long as she can control herself, I don't mind._

The door opened, and immediately Riku knew that the sugar high was a bad thing.

"Riku! It's great to see you! How have you been? I've been fine, and I found this great new thing called caffeine, and it makes me really hyper, but Squall doesn't like it, because he doesn't like me when I'm hyper, but I don't know why because it's really fun to be hyper, and-" Riku cut her off.

"Yuffie, I'm sure it's a lot of fun to be hyper, but I don't have time to listen to you rant about it. Listen, have you seen Sephiroth around here anywhere? And please answer calmly." Riku tried his best to be patient, but it was extremely hard with the caffeinated ninja bouncing up and down in front of him.

"I am talking calmly, your just talking to slow! Yes, I have seen Sephiroth, but he's really really mad, so I wouldn't look for him if I were you. Oh yeah, and there was this blonde girl with him, but I don't know why she was traveling around with him, because he's in one of his creepy modes right now." Yuffie was still bouncing, but she was getting higher with every bounce.

_Like you? _Riku thought, waiting for her to eventually hit her head on the top of the doorway. "She was traveling with him because she was kidnapped by him, and I have to get her back."

"What! Are you cheating on me?" Even though she was acting mad, she was still bouncing.

_It's hard to cheat on someone that you don't even like. _Riku was starting to get frustrated with her. "No, but she is the only one who can fix Sora's memory. If I don't get her back, Sora won't remember anything from his life, including you."

Thud! Riku just watched as she almost knocked herself out on the top of the doorway. She came up fuming.

"What do you mean he won't remember me! If it weren't for me, Squall might've killed him!"

"He won't remember anybody, not you, not Leon, Cloud, Aerith, or even Donald and Goofy. He won't even remember Kairi or me. I doubt he'll even remember his name." Riku tried his best to seem calm, but the thought hit him that he might have to tell Kairi about it, and if _Yuffie _was this bad, then he couldn't imagine what Kairi would do.

"Alright, I'll tell you where they are. But you didn't hear this from me, ok?"

"Ok." Riku listened intently as she told him where they were.

A few minutes later, Riku was swimming across the underground lake that was home of the wizard Merlin. Apparently there was a hidden cave on the other side of it, and the entrance was underwater. He quickly found it, and prepared himself for what he was about to face. Sephiroth was not an easy opponent, no matter how you looked at it.

He took a deep breath and entered the cave. After swimming underwater for about half a second, he found the actual cave. It was hard not to, since the light in there was the brightest in all of Traverse Town. He blinked a few times and then looked around. There wasn't much in the cave, other than the obviously magical light that floated just below the middle of the ceiling.

"Riku!" Riku spun around and found Namine tied up in a corner.

"Namine!" Riku ran to her and began to untie her.

"Riku, listen to me. You have to get me back to Sora." She seemed really anxious about something.

"I know. If I don't his memory will be lost forever, right?" Riku replied as he finished untying the ropes.

"No, Riku." She made him look at her. "If I don't get back in there and fix him in two weeks, he'll die."

"What? Namine, what are you talking about?"

"Exactly what she said." Sephiroth's voice said right behind Riku.

"Riku!" Namine's voice was the last thing that Riku heard before he felt Sephiroth's sword bite his back and send him falling into the bliss of unconsciousness…

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Ok, just so that y'all know, Steel is not bhk. You will find out more about him in the next chapter. Until then, R&R and let me know how I'm doing. Like I said in the summary, flames accepted. And there is a reason Axel is acting so strange, and you will also find out more about that in the next chapter.


	3. Of Assassins and Cheshire Cats

Hey everybody, here's the third chapter. I don't really have much to say here, so on to teh disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except Steel. Wait, I own something? Yes! Anyway, on to the story!

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_Riku, save your energy. Don't fight the pain, it will only weaken you._

"_Who's there?" Riku couldn't see a thing in the darkness._

_You know me as the Riku Replica._

"_Why do you keep helping me? I'm the one who killed you, right?" Riku still couldn't see a thing._

_You have been chosen. I have been assigned to help you get there._

"_Are you sure your not Diz? Or Ansem maybe?" Riku's mind was tired enough without having to decipher what this guy was saying._

_Ansem is the reason that Sephiroth hurt you so much. Diz is the reason Sephiroth hurt you. I am the reason you survived._

"_Ok, well can you answer some questions? Like why Sora's going to die in two weeks?"_

_If Namine goes for two weeks without beginning to fix his memories, they will try to fix themselves. To avoid the resulting confusion, Sora's brain will shut down. Without his brain, the rest of his body will shut down._

"_Ok, how about why Sephiroth kidnapped her in the first place?"_

_We don't have time to finish this conversation. For now, you must wake up. Sephiroth has gone to wonderland, so that will be your next destination._

Riku woke up with a start. Once again he wasn't quite sure if it was just a dream or if he had really talked to the other Riku, but he decided that if it worked last time, it should work again.

He sat up, and looked around. He was still in the cave that he had found Namine in, but something seemed strange to him. He shook his head and tried to think about what had happened last. He remembered hearing Sephiroth's voice, then Namine's, and then Sephiroth had hit him in the back… and then it hit him. He was still alive. He had been expecting death, or at least being held captive by Sephiroth so that he wouldn't try and free Namine again. Yet here he was, alive, still free, not even hurting from the slash.

_Guess I should go to wonderland now. _Riku got to his feet and began walking to the exit. The water felt good as he jumped in, and it woke him up a little. He swam back to the third district and began to open the Twilight Road. But then he sensed something that made him stop. There was another portal for the road opening somewhere in the first district. Riku decided to check it out, since the only other person he knew that could get there was Diz.

Riku was just about to open the door to the first district when it began to open by itself. Riku immediately found some shadows and hid in them. As soon as the doors were open enough for someone to slip through, a boy that couldn't have been much older than Riku slid through the doors and pushed them closed. His clothes were completely black, giving him the appearance of an assassin. He wore a black cloak, ragged pants and a shirt that looked like the sleeves had been cut off by a dull knife. There was only one problem with his assassin look. He had blonde hair. Not dirty blonde, but completely blonde. He also had blue eyes, but they were cold, like the boy had killed more people than Sora had heartless, but that might have been exaggerating.

The blonde kid looked around before walking across the square to the door that led to Merlin's place. He stopped again, turned around and looked at the door that led to the first district. His gaze swept across the square again, landing on exactly where Riku was. Riku thought about revealing himself, but something held him back. Finding nothing, the boy walked through the door and into the chamber that held the under ground lake.

Riku waited for a few seconds before deciding that it was safe to come out. He opened the portal to the Twilight Road and stepped through.

Steel looked around the cavern he had just entered. He could tell that Namine had been here, but he also sensed that there were two powerful, dark beings that were with her. He stepped forward and dipped his hand in the water. When he pulled it out, he drew one of his daggers and let a drop fall on the blade. The blade glowed with dark energy, but then returned to normal.

"So one of her dark captors can swim. Let's find out where he went while he was in the water." Steel then stuck the blade into the dark water and waited. A few seconds later a path glowing with dark energy appeared, showing exactly where Riku had gone in the water.

Steel followed the path and came to the cave. His knife could tell that all three of them had been here at the same time, though it was a short period. The one that could swim was left behind while the more powerful captor left with Namine. After waiting for a few hours the other one had left, swimming back to the town. Steel followed this trail as well, watching the trail the creature had taken, almost the exact same as the first trail. He didn't mind the fact that he had just swam to the cave and back for apparently no reason. After all, now he knew a tactic they were likely to use in most of the other worlds they went to. While one would leave with the captive, the other would stay behind to take care of anybody who was following. It was a tactic Steel had seen many times before, and one that he could use to his advantage.

"Don't worry Namine, I won't let you down this time."

Wonderland. The insane world where everything is messed up even without the heartless. The world that is ruled by a self-centered, fat, lazy, and annoying tyrant. Riku hated this place. It was so distorted that only a fat cat with pink and purple fur could navigate it easily. Not to mention it smelled like his aunt's horrible perfume, which made Riku choke every time she wore it.

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!" A white rabbit ran by as fast as he could, holding a pocket watch where everybody could see. Riku promptly tripped him and stuck him to a wall with a very slow darkness portal that would disappear before the rabbit even got close to getting through, but that wouldn't be for another hour at least.

"Ok, now that your calmed down, have you seen a man with a black cape taking a blonde girl somewhere?" Riku asked calmly, despite the rabbit yelling something incoherent.

The rabbit glared at him before answering. "Yes, and he did the same thing you did and made me late. If you're looking for him, then ask the Cheshire cat. He should know where that man went."

"Thank you, but I can't reverse that, so you might as well just sit still. If it doesn't think there is anything there, it'll let you go." Riku walked off and was extremely amused that the rabbit didn't take his advice.

He walked into the next room, the room with the doorknob. "Hey, doorknob, where's the bottles? I need to grow small." Riku knocked on the door to wake it up.

"Huh, wha? Oh, right, the bottles. They're right over there." The door yawned as he said this, and the table with the bottles grew out of the ground.

"Thanks." Riku drank one of the bottles and began to shrink. He stopped when he was about three inches tall, and walked over to the hole in the wall that led to the queen's castle. He hated this castle more than any other place in the whole world. Those annoying cards attacked him on sight. But this was the only way to get to the forest, so he had to endure it. At least he could sink into the shadows.

When he got to the courtyard, he was met by a welcoming sight. Sephiroth had burned the whole place to the ground! Riku made a mental note to thank him next time he saw him.

He quickly went into the forest, wondering where the Cheshire cat was and who would get blamed for the fire. With Riku's luck, it would probably be him. He looked around, trying to decide where to look first for the Cheshire cat.

"Who are you looking for? Do you know the answer?" Riku didn't even turn around, figuring that if he didn't look at the Cheshire cat he would stay long enough for his questions to be answered.

"A girl named Namine." Riku wasn't sure how long he could play the cat's game, but he would do it as long as he could.

"Then, why are you asking about a man named Sephiroth?"

"Because he kidnapped Namine." Riku was reminded of the mind games Diz forced him to play.

"Well, I know where both of them are, as well as your enemy."

"I don't need your help to find them. It won't take me long, I just have to look." Riku figured that if he didn't ask the cat, then he would tell without realizing it.

"You'll never find them. Your friend needed my help to find this spot, and he had two others helping him." Riku turned around and saw the cat's head turning circles around his shoulders.

"My friend is a dimwit that couldn't find a haystack if he threw the needle in it. Besides, I already know where Sephiroth and Namine are." One last trick to try before he killed the cat.

"And where is that? Behind you? Or maybe behind me? Still in the castle, perhaps?" Riku picked up a clue that he never would have even thought was there if Diz hadn't been training him to do this.

Riku whirled around and pulled out the Soul Eater just in time to stop Sephiroth from killing him.

"I see Diz has taught you how to play word games. Tell me, has he also taught you how to dodge attacks without moving? Or how to redirect magic? If not, then you are doomed." As he said this, Sephiroth disappeared from in front of Riku and reappeared behind him, trying to hit him again.

Riku, expecting this, turned around, guided Sephiroth's sword towards the ground and jumped over the blade. He then came in to attack only to find Sephiroth blocking his sword.

"Hm, impressive. How about you do that to this?" Sephiroth asked just before he teleported.

Riku turned around, expecting another blow, but instead saw him casting a spell. Riku ran towards him, but half way there all of his strength drained. He collapsed at Sephiroth's feet, waiting for the fatal blow to fall.

"It is set up, master." Axel dared not look up, afraid he might anger the person he was bowing to. "If Sephiroth does not do it, then the assassin certainly will. It won't fail this time."

"For your sake, it had better not."

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Ooooh, who is axel serving? Well, I don't know yet, but I will next chapter!

Oh yeah, and thanks for the reviews **Metal Chopsticks. **That's one of the reasons, but there are more. And no, I'm not a big fan of that pairing. I just needed a reason for her to help him.

And for everybody else, R&R! If there is something you don't like about my story, I can't fix it unless you tell me about it! I will return tomorrow! Maybe.


	4. Riku, meet Steel

Hey y'all, here's chapter four. I pretty much typed it up in hour, so forgive me if there are any spelling mistakes. Anyway, hope you enjoy it. I think this might be one of my favorites so far, lol.

Disclaimer: Why do I even bother putting this in? Anyway, I don't own anything except Steel, and maybe Axel's new boss...

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"Did you really think that you could beat me?" Sephiroth mocked, pointing his blade at Riku's throat. 

"No, I just thought I would chase you down and fight you for no reason." Riku replied sarcasticly. Hedecided that if he could stall long enough his strength would return, but he knew that he was in trouble if "long enough" was more than a few seconds.

"Stalling won't help, Riku. You are completely at my mercy." Sephiroth seemed to be reading his mind.

Riku continued to glare at him, but his mind was working furiously to find a way out of this. If only he had a potion or something, then he could resume the fight. It was times like this when he really missed King Mickey. He had offered to teach Riku cure, but he had declined, saying that he didn't need it. If only he had taken the time to learn it…

"Don't even bother trying to think of a way out of this. It was planned very carefully." Sephiroth pulled back his sword, preparing to strike.

_Look at his belt._

Riku quickly glanced at Sephiroth's belt and saw a pouch on it.

_Take the pouch._

Riku, not having another plan, gathered the last bit of strength he had and got ready to dodge the imminent attack. Then just as it came down, Riku rolled forward, in too close for the sword to really hit him, and cut the pouch open. An elixir fell out.

"It seems Diz has taught you better than I thought." Sephiroth said, trying to hide the anger in his voice as Riku used the elixir.

"I guess so." Riku could feel the elixir rejuvenate him. For a few seconds he felt like he could take on the world, but then he figured that that would be much easier if Sephiroth weren't in the world.

Riku jumped back to his feet and got ready to fight again. But then, both Riku smelt a heart full of darkness approaching and hid. Sephiroth also sensed it and hid, deciding to use the same trick he had on Riku.

Then the blonde boy Riku had seen in Traverse Town walked into the forest. He pulled out a dagger and slashed the air with it. The blade of the dagger immediately turned pitch black, then it obtained the color of a dark firaga before turning back to normal. The boy quickly pulled out another dagger and looked around, eyes sweeping the forest before landing on where Sephiroth was hidden.

"I know you're there. I can sense the darkness hiding you." The voice sounded emotionless, which only added to Riku's suspicion that he was an assassin.

"Very well, but do you know who I am? If so, then are you making the assumption that you can defeat me?" Sephiroth walked out of the shadows, drawing his insanely long sword as he spoke. "Do you also know that I have an accomplice hiding over there?"

Riku scowled as Sephiroth pointed at him. Riku hoped the assassin wouldn't believe Sephiroth, but he probably would.

"Yes, but since you were the stronger one I assumed that you were the person I was after."

"Well, you can come after me once you defeat him." A portal appeared behind Sephiroth and he stepped into it. "Riku, you had better not fail me." With one last look at where Riku was hiding, he disappeared into the darkness.

"So, I was wrong. The accomplice is the one I am after, though I will chase your master once I take care of you. My name is Steel. Remember it well, for that is the name of the one who will kill you." Steel turned to face him, his two daggers ready to strike.

"Alright, who sent you to kill me? Axel, Larxene, Lexaeus maybe?" Riku stepped out of the darkness and held Soul Eater at the ready.

Steel didn't react to Riku's question, only gripped his blades tighter. Riku heard something in the back of his mind telling him that this assassin wasn't really his enemy, but Riku was pretty sure that this guy would kill him if he got the chance. But he wasn't going to get that chance.

They circled each other for a few seconds, trying to guess the other's fighting style and how to beat it. Steel made the first move, running at Riku with his blades arcing in a horizontal slash. Riku jumped back to avoid the attack, then used a vertical downward slash to try and knock Steel off balance. The assassin expected this, however, and guided Riku's blade to the right with the dagger in his right hand, while the other dagger came in from the left to try and take out Riku's arm. Riku caught the other boy's arm and used his own momentum to throw him to the ground. Steel improvised, though, and brought Riku down with him.

The two warriors rolled away from each other and resumed circling. _This is going to be a tough fight, _Riku realized as the assassin came in to strike again.

* * *

"Our master has been waiting for you. Follow us." The two black knights that stood in front of Axel turned and opened the giant doors. Axel followed them into a giant throne room, about the size of a whole floor in Castle Oblivion, which was dimly lit by torches that lined the walls. Under each torch were chains, many of which still held the remains of their latest captives. There were a few that held live captives, but these prisoners were too weak to say anything. Axel knew that the ruler of this world was extremely barbaric, but also knew that if you called him that you would be the next person in those chains. When they made it to the throne, the knights motioned Axel forward and told him to speak. 

"The battle between Sephiroth and Riku didn't bring the expected results, Master." Axel hoped that the man sitting in front of him wouldn't blame him for this, but chances were good that this would happen.

"And the battle with Steel?" The man speaking sat on an obsidian throne, with no light shining directly on him. The little light that did make it to him from the torches lit only his legs from the knee down, and cast even deeper shadows on the rest of him.

"It is still in progress. Our assassin doesn't seem to be living up to his reputation." Axel had guessed that the torches had been placed this way so that they would cast deep shadows on the Master. They made him even more intimidating than he would be in full light, and they hid his face so that you couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"It is good that he is taking a while during this fight. Since everything is going according to plan, you may leave in peace, Axel. But don't forget: If this fails, you will be the one paying for it." The man leaned forward when he said this, and Axel saw two glowing red eyes piercing the darkness and boring into his soul.

"Yes, Master."

* * *

_Will this guy ever give up? _Riku wondered. They had been fighting for three hours straight, and both were nearly collapsing. 

_He is not your enemy._

_How many times are you going to lie to me? This guy is trying to kill me, and you're telling me not to fight him?_

_Yes._

Riku knew that if this fight lasted any longer, both of them would faint and if the other guy woke up first, then he would probably kill Riku in his sleep. So he decided that he would listen to the voice in the back of his head and retreat. Riku waited until he was in between Steel and the doorway to the castle then gunned it, hoping that he could outrun him long enough to open a gate to darkness and return to Castle Oblivion.

Steel saw Riku turn and run, so he tried to chase him. He took a few strides then his legs gave out, collapsing from exhaustion.

"I won't let you escape! I will chase you through every world you go to until I get her back!" Steel started to crawl after him, but instead used the last bit of energy he had and fainted.

Riku looked at the limp form on the ground. _Who did I take from him? Yuffie?_ Riku thought, wondering if he had been Yuffie's girlfriend back on her world. If that was it, then he could have her for all Riku cared. He might even bake a cake for them the let this guy deal with Yuffie while she was on her sugar high.

Riku amused himself with that thought as he used darkness to open a door to Castle Oblivion. This was a one-way ticket, which was why Riku usually used the Twilight Road, but he was hoping that Steel couldn't follow him when he used darkness to travel, giving Riku a head start.

Larxene just happened to be there when he arrived, and greeted him with a look that could have killed someone.

"I thought you had gone to get Namine back." She remarked, eyeing him suspiciously. "Where is she?"

Riku began walking away as though he hadn't heard her.

"I just asked you a question. You are supposed to answer me." Larxene grabbed Riku's shoulder and spun him around.

Riku brushed her hand off and took a step back. "You aren't my superior, Larxene, which means I don't have to do anything for you. So unless you want to answer to Diz, you will let me go and not bother me anymore until after my mission is complete." Riku continued walking, despite Larxene yelling something about the chain of command.

He got to his room and walked over to the bag that was sitting on the floor in the middle of it. He quickly rummaged through it to make sure it had everything he needed. Elixirs, Hi-potions, tents, water, and emergency food. Yup, it was all there.

Riku picked it up, then looked at his bed longingly. Just a few hours of sleep wouldn't hurt, right? No, he had to get going. He could sleep all he wanted when he got back.

_If I get back._

* * *

Ok, well there you are. Sorry I didn't include more of the battle between Riku and Steel, but this fic _is_ still rated PG. 

Thanks for the reviews, everybody.

**Khobsessed-13 **Thanks for pointing that out to me. I didn't realize that the site was taking out the stars I put there, lol.

**Metal Chopsticks **I know what you mean about the room... might have Sephiroth destroy the whole world later on... lol. Right, Steel is not bhk and he is looking for Namine.

**Namine3419 **I'm glad you like it, lol. That was probably one of the best lines I've ever come up with.

Well, thanks for reading everybody. Review and let me know what you think of this chapter, since it won't be the last time Steel and Riku fight each other.


	5. Dreams, Marks, and a Fight

Sorry for the delay, just blame it on busy weekends and a lot of homework. Anyway, here's chapter five. If you look hard you can find out who Steel is, lol.

Disclaimer: Do I have to say it?

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_"Hey, c'mon Namine, we're supposed to meet Sora and Riku by the big tree today." The blonde five year old walked to her window to see who was calling her. She immediately brightened up when she saw a girl about her age but with red hair standing on the ground waving to her._

"_I'll be right down Kairi!" The blonde rushed to her closet and quickly got dressed. Then she rushed to her brother's room t see if he was already awake. As usual, he was already up and gone from his room. After pouting and muttering something about him never wanting to meet her friends, she ran downstairs and told her mom where she was going. She really like her mom, because she had powers just like Namine, and she was the one who could always make Namine happy again._

"_Ok, but if you four get hungry feel free to come here and get cookies."_

"_Don't worry Mom, Sora and Riku will make sure we do. They love your cookies." She quickly ran outside and met up with Kairi, then they ran to the big tree that was taller than most of the houses that were in the village. Some people said that it was magical and that it should be left alone, but Namine and here friends didn't care about that, since it was the only place they could go to be alone._

"_Hi Kairi, hi Namine!" Sora and Riku said in unison as soon as they saw the two girls running towards them._

"_Hi guys. What are we going to do today?" Kairi asked as soon as they got to where the two boys were._

"_Well, you remember what you told us about those strange black things you saw down in the dungeons?" Riku sounded really excited, like he had just found a secret that no one else knew about._

"_Yes. What about them?" Kairi didn't like talking about them, especially since she knew that King Ansem would get really mad at her if he knew that she had found them._

"_Well, me and Sora were bored yesterday after you two ditched us, so we decided to see what was really down there." Riku didn't seem too disappointed that the girls had ditched them, but then again they had a hard time keeping up with the boys when they went exploring._

"_What! Riku, you know we're not allowed down there! What if you were caught?" Namine hated the fact that Riku had absolutely no regard for rules, especially ones that would get him in the most trouble. And Sora never even thought about objecting, since they were both sons of famous warriors._

"_We can't get caught Namine, you should know that by now. Besides, there was nothing else to do. Anyway, we were exploring and found them. But they weren't those small things Kairi described. They were huge, some looked like those dragons from the stories, and others looked like they were demon knights or something. They had these giant shields with monster faces on them. And then…" Riku stopped and stared at the sky._

"_What are you looking at?" Kairi too looked up, then she screamed._

_Namine quickly glanced upward to find what her friends were so scared of. Then she saw it. It was…_

Namine woke up screaming. It had been horrible… but she couldn't remember what it was. She waited for her heart to slow down before going into her memory to try and find what she had been so scared of. She had had this dream almost every night since Sora had come to Castle Oblivion. This was the first time she had ever made it this far, though. She didn't want to go back to sleep because Sephiroth would be back soon, and then she would learn more about what was happening to Riku. Riku, how she missed him! This was worse than when he went on missions that Axel gave him, which usually took about two weeks. This time, she was the reason he was practically killing himself. Why couldn't they just sit and talk like they used to, before Sephiroth came and kidnapped her? Why was it taking so long for him to find her again? It had already been three days since he had found her and Sephiroth in Traverse Town, which meant Sora only had eleven days left.

Sora. Why was it taking so long to put his memories back together? It should have only taken three days at the most, but it had already been weeks since she had started. Every time she took a break, she found memories other than the ones that she had put back together attaching themselves to the chain of memories that bound Sora's heart. They weren't Sora's real memories, but they weren't the ones Namine had made either. They were constantly fighting her whenever she put a new piece on, which made the task even more difficult than it already was. When she had tried to examine them and find out what they were, some sort of spell that had been put on them repelled her, draining some of her strength and causing excruciating pain in her mind.

"So, how is my lure feeling? Miserable, as always?" Sephiroth entered the room with the usual food and water he always brought. Stale bread and salt water.

"Oh, shut up Jenova." Namine glared at her captor. Jenova, the evil (for lack of a better word) goddess that was currently controlling the closest thing she had to a son, could hear every word that Namine said, and Namine knew that she hated being spoken to through Sephiroth.

"Shut up yourself, witch. We both know that Riku will never rescue you, at least not while Sephiroth stands between you and him." Sephiroth's voice had changed to that of Jenova's, a sound that Namine associated with nails on a chalkboard.

Namine looked away, pretending that Jenova had hit a soft spot.  
"That's better. Now, eat up while we wait for your dear Riku to find his way here." Sephiroth turned and began to walk away.

"Hey Jenova?" Sephiroth turned around. Namine promptly smashed his heart.

* * *

"_Hey Guardian, where are you?" _Riku asked in his mind for the fiftieth time as he combed Lotus Forest for clues again. And, for the fiftieth time, he got no answer.

Riku cursed. Both Sephiroth and Steel had disappeared without a trace and Riku Replica had gone on vacation or something. After once again obtaining no clues, Riku decided to search his mind for clues. Steel had said that Riku had taken a girl from him and that was why he was tracking Riku. Sephiroth had kidnapped Namine so Riku went after him. Was Sephiroth after somebody? Or did he just kidnap Namine so that Riku would do Diz's test? Was there anybody who would know the answer to that? The answer hit Riku like Sephiroth's sword.

Cloud.

* * *

_Why do I always let Namine down? I told here I would meet those three friends of hers, but I never did. I promised her I would protect her if anything happened, but our world was destroyed and we got separated. Now she's been kidnapped, and I'm not strong enough to rescue her. _Steel had decided to go to Traverse Town to gather his thoughts and recuperate from his fight. All he had succeeded in doing so far, however, was berate himself for not helping Namine and spend a sleepless night fighting inner demons. "I won't fail next time, I promise."

"You know, they say the first sign of insanity is talking to yourself." Steel jumped up and tried to press his dagger against the throat of the person that had snuck up on him. But the fact that a gunblade was in between the two of them made it a little hard.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Steel jumped back and got into a fighting stance, ready to fight this guy if he needed to.

"The name's Leon. Don't bother introducing yourself, I already know who the great Steel Blade is." Leon kept his blade in between them, making sure hat Steel didn't get the chance to catch him off guard. "All I want to know is why you are tracking Riku. Give me a straight answer, or you won't live to see tomorrow."

Steel weighed his options. He could probably beat this guy, even if the ninja sneaking around behind him attacked, but then it would take longer to recuperate enough to fight Riku again. If they were working with him though, then it would be better to take care of them now then fight them when Riku was with them.

"Only if the ninja comes out into the open and stands right beside you." Leon didn't look too surprised that Steel had known that a ninja was sneaking around, but the ninja certainly was.

"How did you know I was there? No one can trace my movements if I don't want them to! You have to be cheating!" She walked to where Leon was and glared at him.

"I'm an assassin. I work in the shadows more than thieves do. So naturally I can sense anybody when they are using normal means to hide." Steel was more at ease now that he knew that the ninja wasn't a professional. "Ok, here's my straight answer. Riku kidnapped a girl from my world. So I'm getting her back."

"Riku would never do that! He's not that kind of guy! Just because he uses darkness doesn't mean he's evil! So if you want to get to him, you'll have to go through us! Right Squall?" Steel had a feeling that Leon didn't feel this way, but waited to find out what he was going to do.

"I wouldn't put it past him. He did try and kill Sora, remember? But he was being controlled by Ansem then, and maybe he is now. But then again, if this assassin kills him, then Sora won't get the chance to save him from the darkness again."

"You know, they say talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity." Steel couldn't help but say it. Leon obviously wasn't talking to the ninja, but he wasn't talking to Steel either.

Leon looked at Steel, then at the ninja, and nodded. This was going to be an interesting fight, Steel thought as they began to walk to either side of him.

* * *

"Cloud." Riku said as the red-cloaked warrior walked out of the arena.

"Riku." Riku knew that he wasn't exactly on good terms with Cloud, but he was the only person who could help him right now.

"I need your help." Cloud stopped cold. He turned around and stared at Riku for a minute, as if trying to read his mind and see if he was lying or not.

"What do you need help with?" Apparently Cloud seemed to decide that Riku really needed help. It may have had something to do with the fact that Riku hadn't slept for three days and this showed plainly on his face.

"Sephiroth kidnapped the only person who can restore Sora's memories and I can't find him. I figured you could help me."

"I probably can, but you won't do much against Sephiroth if you're so tired you can barely walk. Follow me, I'll take you to a place you can rest."

"I can't rest. I have an assassin named Steel after me." Riku followed as Cloud began to walk away.

"Don't worry. He owes me his life. I don't think he'll bother you while you're here." Riku was pretty sure that if he wasn't trying to help Sora, Cloud would have flagged Steel down and told him exactly where to find Riku.

"Whoa, Cloud, you're not helping him are you?" Both Cloud and Riku turned to find Hades walking towards them. "I mean after all, you know what's in store for him, right?"

"If you're talking about the assassin Steel Blade, then yes I do."

"Steel's after him too? Dang, that kids got it in for him. But anyway, the kid's marked, so I would stay away from him if I were you." With that Hades disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Cloud slowly turned and looked down at Riku with a look of horror on his face. "You're marked? Forget resting, we need to get you to Aeris _now_."

* * *

Well, there you go. Did you catch Steel's Identity? If not, then don't worry. I think I might really reveal it next chapter. 

Only one review? Where is everybody?

**Namine3419 **Now that is a cool idea. Wish I could use it, but I've never read the books and I only saw part of the movie. But thank you so much for that review. You're question gave me so mnay cool ideas for this fic it's not even funny. And thanks to you, I now know who Axel is serving! lol.

Ok, I'll update faster this time, I promise.


	6. Explanations

Yes! I'm at 210 hits! Woohoo! I think I'll celebrate by... putting this chapter on! Lol.

Disclaimer: If I owned KH, Sephiroth would be the main character. Or at least Riku.

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_Please tell me he didn't survive that. _Namine was staring with horror at Sephiroth as, just a few minutes after getting his heart completely smashed, he began to move.

Sephiroth got up and looked around the room. When he saw Namine, he looked shocked. "Namine? How did you suddenly get so tall? And why is the castle in such disrepair?"

"What do you mean 'how did I get so tall?' You kidnapped me just a few days ago. I've never been to this castle before, but I do know how it got in such bad shape. The Heartless took over this world and it became warped." Namine wasn't sure if Sephiroth was just playing mind tricks with her or if Jenova had played a mind trick on him, but either way he seemed to think they had known each other before.

"Kidnapped you? Oh right, Jenova's had control over me for a while now. But what do you mean you've never been here before? You practically grew up here." Sephiroth looked confused for a minute then a look of comprehension dawned on his face. "Of course. Your mother's spell."

"What?"

* * *

"Cloud." Riku glared at the warrior when, for the third time, he didn't even turn his head. "Cloud! What am I marked with? Who marked me? Why…" A memory suddenly rose up in Riku's mind.

"_Riku." Sephiroth looked down at the young silver haired boy that stood at his feet. "I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell you this, but you have been marked."_

"_Is that a bad thing?" The young boy looked up in confusion._

"_Do you remember your ancient history lessons? The ones that had the elves in them?"_

"_Yeah, they're my favorite. But what do they have to do with anything?"_

"_Well, you know that the Great Shadow, after he was beaten by the Gods, was thrown into the void, right?"_

"_Yeah. He said that one day, he would come from the darkness and destroy everything that the Gods had fought so hard to protect. He said that he would send one of his servants to open the gate for him to come through. I still don't see how this has anything to do with me…" The boy's face suddenly grew fearful. "I'm the servant."_

_Sephiroth nodded._

"Cloud, this doesn't have anything to do with the Great Shadow, does it?"

Cloud stopped, looked at Riku, then looked away and kept going.

* * *

"That wasn't too hard." The battle between Steel and the other two had gone quite bad. For them anyway.

"Hey, why don't you untie me and fight me in a real battle instead of using my own tactics against me!" Steel had knocked out Leon first, then pinned the ninja and tied her to a lamppost when she had gone to make sure Leon was alright.

Steel acted like he hadn't heard her and began to walk towards the third district. Since nobody ever went there anymore, it was the ideal place to open a path to the Twilight Road. The fight he had just had, instead of wearing him out, had rejuvenated him far more than the rest he had been getting did.

Steel suddenly had the feeling like he wasn't alone. He looked around, but couldn't find anything unusual. He kept walking, but the feeling kept growing. If anybody had been watching him, he would have noticed, but he trusted this instinct more than his own eyes. He would have to be careful until he was out of Travers Town.

* * *

Mickey silently watched the strange blonde boy from the rooftops of Traverse Town. When the boy stopped and looked around, Mickey stopped and waited instead of trying to find somewhere to hide. Since the cloak he wore was completely black, as well as his fur, the assassin couldn't see him. Mickey knew that this boy was after Riku, but he didn't know why. It was probably munny, if he really was an assassin, but it might be other reasons too. He would have to confront him soon, Mickey decided.

* * *

"Listen well Namine, this is very important. I believe that you have been having dreams lately about memories you didn't know you had, correct?" Namine nodded, and Sephiroth continued. "Well, these are your real memories. You used to live in this world. Your mother had special powers, as I'm sure you already knew. She had the power to alter, recreate, construct and destroy memories. Her power was limited, however. She knew about Ansem and the Heartless, and she knew what was going to happen. There was no way anybody could stop it by then, however, but there was a way she could keep the children of the castle and the town that you lived in from feeling the loss of losing your world. This spell took everything she had. It changed yours, Sora's, Riku's, and Kairi's memories to fit the world you were sent to. It also changed the memories of those around you to make them think that you had been there all your life."

"But that didn't happen to Kairi. When she got to her world, Riku and Sora thought they had been there all their lives, but Kairi knew that she was from a different world, and so did everyone else." Namine was definitely leaning towards Jenova playing tricks on Sephiroth.

"Yes, I told her that one of you four would be affected by it less than others. She also knew it, but she also knew that if she didn't do this, then all of you would grow up with nothing but resentment and revenge on your minds. When she told me what she was going to do, I tried to stop her. After all, she helped me stop Jenova from taking over my mind more than once. She refused and told me that it was your friend's turn to save the world, and your turn to help them. She also told me that the spell would wear off after about ten years and that you would slowly regain your memory."

Namine thought about this, then decided to believe him. It did make sense after all. The dreams, the feeling of knowing Sora even before they met, even the feeling that she and Kairi would get along great if they ever met. With this in mind, Namine decided to search her mind and try to find the rest of her real memories.

* * *

"Cloud? What are you doing here so early? I thought the tournament was going to last until nightfall." Aeris looked at Cloud questioningly, but when she saw Riku she suddenly understood. "So, I guess you found out what is going to happen to him."

"Yes. Why didn't you tell anybody? It might be too late already." Cloud tried not to make it sound like an accusation, but it kind of came out that way.

"I didn't tell anyone because if Sora knew about it, then he might not have kept looking for Riku and Riku would have thought that Sora had abandoned him, causing it to happen faster. Or, if we had done it the normal way, Sora would have turned against us for killing Riku." Aeris' tone had become defensive, and Riku got the feeling that she had expected the second one to happen.

"So what's going to happen to me than? Are you going to kill me? Or are you going to wait for it to happen?" Riku hated the fact that he was about to open the gate to the void and let the most powerful evil being to ever exist back into all of these worlds, so that he could take over them one by one. Riku would lose everybody permanently if that happened. Sora, Kairi, King Mickey, but most importantly, Namine. Why did he always lose people? And not just anybody, but the people who were the most important to him. He missed Namine more than anybody, even though he had only known her for a little while.

"It's too late to really do anything about it now. Everything will depend on what happens to you and how you handle it. The only advice I have for you is: don't push yourself too hard, try to avoid getting angry, and, most importantly, _stay away from the darkness._" Aeris emphasized these last few words the most, and Riku decided that he should probably listen to her.

"It might be a good idea for us to give you a history lesson while you're here. It'll be better if you know what exactly you're facing." Cloud sat down on a chair next to Aeris and Riku sat down on the other side of the table. He figured this would probably take a while.

* * *

"Your name is Steel, right?" Mickey almost laughed when the assassin spun around and threw a dagger at him, missing horribly because of Mickey's height.

"Yes. What do you want?" As Steel said this Mickey noticed that the dagger that had been thrown was suddenly back in its sheath.

"Well, I heard you're looking for a pal of mine by the name of Riku. I was just wondering why, that's all," Mickey replied calmly, doing his best not to laugh at the look on Steel's face as he realized that a mouse was about to fight him.

"That would be none of your business. Of course, I might tell you, but only if you can defeat me in battle."

"Ok, let's fight." Mickey's keyblade appeared in his hand, and Steel tried his best not to laugh.

Three Minutes Later

"Now, how about telling me why you're after Riku?" Mickey had Steel on the ground and was pointing the keyblade at his throat.

Steel cursed, then said, "Fine. I'm after him because he kidnapped a girl I know."

"And who would that be?" Mickey was kind of enjoying having this guy who was supposed to be unbeatable at his mercy.

"My sister, Namine."

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Well there you are. How many of you were right about Steel? Probably all of you, I didn't try too hard to hide it in the last chapter. Anyway, if any of you have read the _Sillmarillion_ by JRR Tolkien, then you probably already know who Axel's master is. I also congratulate you on getting through that book. If you haven't read it, or read that far in it yet, then don't worry I will name him and explain a little more about him next chapter. 

Yes! More reviews!

**Khobsessed-13 **Lol, it feels good to figure stuff out without getting confused, doesn't it? And puppy dog eyes don't work on me, ask my sisters and the girls at the dance studio I go to, they try it almost every timeI see them(I'm one of the only teenage guys there).

**Metal Chopsticks **I know how that is. My dad locked fanfiction on our good comp, so I have to use the sucky comp to update and everything. Yeah, Nami is dangerous, but Riku is much more dangerous since he's 'marked' now.

Well, those are the only two who have reviewed so far, but I trust that the others will review sometime! Maybe. Anyway, R&R this chapter and tell me what you think. I will have another shocking turn of events soon, but first you must tell me what to fix!


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